It was the fourth Sunday of July, and so it was that time to convene in the old 4-H Club a white clapboard Victorian structure that hadn't seen a coat of paint in who knows how long. The grassy lot around the archaic structure was filled with vehicles of all sorts. There were old pick-up trucks, economy cars sporting bumper stickers about the environment, Lincoln Town Cars and Mercedes with Connecticut and New York plates. Inside there was barely a seat left vacant. It was time for the Lake Association’s annual meeting.
The pea green walls were festooned with the same old 4-H slogans and principles, I noticed, as the meeting's convener rose to welcome everyone. First came the customary reports by the state wildlife representative, who told us about water quality and the population of loons, otters, beavers and bass. Then the town manager addressed the gathering to explain the lack of progress on the reconstruction of the road that circumnavigates the lake. Questions were asked. Proposals were made. As usual there was little to disagree about.
Then came that point in the meeting when new neighbors were introduced. One couple was of special interest to the crowd a youthfully retired couple from Connecticut. He was Canadian and she had been from Texas. Rumor had it that the husband retired early from the presidency of one of the large insurance companies in Hartford. They'd bought the old Thompson property an 800-acre tract on the far side of the lake. What were their plans? Would they subdivide it and develop the land into one of those chic townhouse communities that had sprung up in Franconia Notch or over in Stowe or Woodstock, Vermont? People were apprehensive.
Our new neighbors rose to address the gathering. They seemed friendly enough, and when they assured us that they had no intention to build anything but a small family compound everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Then they added their own issue. The husband spoke: "We realize that we've spent a lot of money for essentially semi-private property." He was absolutely right. The Thompson family had owned the land for several generations, and no one had seen any member of the family for about 50 years. There wasn’t even a house on the property. Locals from neighboring towns had become accustomed to use the land as they saw fit -- clearing expansive permanent campsites, building hunting platforms, developing snow mobile and cross-country ski trails, and so forth. After 50 years people had "forgotten" that the property actually belonged to someone else and had become accustomed to seeing it as their own -- using it for their convenience and treating it as if they actually owned it themselves. The new, real, owners mentioned that they'd come up for the week to camp on the island that was part of the parcel, only to find that three other families had already set up camps. After those folks left, the owners found that one of the campfires had been left burning and litter had been left behind. Not only had the visitors treated the property as their own, but also they'd mistreated it and endangered it for the real owners.
At stewardship time – pledge time – we can forget who really owns what we’ve been allowed to use for our own enjoyment. We like to think that everything we have belongs to us our bodies, our minds, our abilities, our possessions, our money, this world and everything else that what we have belongs to us, that it all belongs only to us. That convenient forgetfulness gets jarred at stewardship time, and when we’re reminded that God allows us to use it we can become resentful. We tend to think that our job is to obtain as much as we can, actually resenting it if we're asked to give a portion of it back to God and to help others who have less as if the Church has the audacity to ask for what belongs to us. But what we have actually belongs to another. It all belongs to God. We are privileged to hold it in trust for Him to use it in honor of Him to care for it, to use it in His service, and to share it with others in need. We hold what we possess in semi-private trust for God. We’re actually intended by the one who entrusted it all to us to use a portion of our money, and our time and abilities to serve His purposes. The Church’s role is to remind everyone of that fact and to give each person the opportunity to do just that. That’s what stewardship, what pledging, is all about. It’s time for that annual awakening from our convenient forgetfulness. God wants you – a proportion of the money, the time and the gifts that He’s granted you – to use for His service in this place.
Stewardship Pledge Sunday takes place on two consecutive weekends this year – November 9 and 16. God has blessed us with what we have in order to be a blessing in turn. Please consider that fact and, when you receive your pledge packet in the mail, make your decision to give more generously than ever. In this way you’ll give God room to bless you even more.
Affectionately in Christ,
Phil +